Some novels – even some truly great novels – can take a while to seduce you. This is not the case with Kindling, which opens on a panicked man searching his house for his son even as reason dictates that the boy isn’t there; a mere two pages in and already you know that Darren Groth is not a writer who wastes time.

What follows is alternately relayed by the father, Nate, and his ten-year-old autistic son, Kieran. Several fiction writers have been drawn to depict autism in recent years, the most notable example being Mark Haddon with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. But while Haddon never actually specifies that his protagonist is autistic, it’s likely that those who enjoyed Curious Dog (and even the two or three people who are yet to read it) will also love Kindling. For, amongst other things, Groth suggests that accepting imperfections – both others’ and our own – is more rewarding than misguided.

The story of Kindling is engrossing, and its characters beautifully realised, but it’s ultimately this kind of insight that makes the novel irresistible.